Friday, November 21, 2008

Idexx completes major expansion

By Mass High Tech Staff

Idexx Laboratories Inc. completed a major expansion this month, adding a 200,000 square-foot building with offices and manufacturing space to its Westbrook, Maine, facility.

Idexx, a maker of animal health biotech devices, tests, software and diagnostic kits, was leasing space at 1 Idexx Drive prior to 2006, when it purchased the 460,000 square-foot campus outright for $18 million. 

The company razed the 130,000 square-foot building and built a 200,000 square-foot facility in its place to enhance workflow through its factories. A $24 million renovation of existing laboratory space at the campus is now beginning with completion expected in 2010.

Idexx has added 600 jobs in Maine in the past two years and now employs 1,800 workers in the state. Key hiring areas have been customer support, operations and research and development, the company said. 

About 82 percent of the company’s revenue comes from veterinarian products for companion animals. Idexx made $94 million in profit on $923 million in revenue in 2007, up 25 percent from $723 million in revenue in 2006.